Ocean City, New Jersey, is a city on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Great Egg Harbor Bay in Cape May County. Known as a family resort, it offers a long list of activities and attractions that mostly take place on the boardwalk, which dates back to 1902. Children will always find something to do in Ocean City, as it offers a multitude of activities especially for kids, from recreational to educational.
Ocean City has tennis courts on 6th, 18th and 34th Streets where children of all ages and skill levels can participate in clinics and tournaments and take private lessons throughout the summer. The Ocean City Department of Recreation runs basketball leagues during summer for kids in the third grade and up. These leagues play in Ocean City's seven public basketball courts including the courts in 8th and 15th Streets and the 34th Street Sports Complex. Five days a week, from late June through August, boys and girls ages 8 to 12 can participate in organized sports at the Ocean City Intermediate School. Kids 11 and under who are accompanied by an adult can play golf in the city-owned and operated golf course on Bay Avenue. For those interested in playing soccer, a field is located at 15th Street and Tennessee Avenue.
Children will enjoy the Annual Children's Tea at the Ocean City Historical Museum, which takes place in February and features games, arts and crafts and an afternoon tea. During spring, kids in Ocean City can win prizes at The Great Egg Hunt at the 14th Street Beach. During summer, children who attend the Johnsons Popcorn Fathers Day Family Fun Fest, which takes place on the boardwalk in June, will be entertained by face painters, bands, magicians and pony rides. A sand sculpting contest and hermit crab races at 6th Street Beach takes place in August. Kids will enjoy free pumpkins, face painting and trick or treating during The Shirt Shack Hayrides on the boardwalk and a Halloween Parade on Asbury Avenue in October. Kids can take horse and carriage rides in front of City Hall during the holidays.
Ocean City Arts Center offers classes for children that are divided into different age groups. Classes include drawing, painting and cartooning, arts and crafts for kids and dance classes. Kids ages 6 to 10 can join a summer art camp. The Ocean City Free Public Library has children's programs that include family craft time, story hour and a book club. Week-long ecological classes and workshops for children ages 6 to 11 are offered by Bayside Camp. Some of the camps, which take place at the Bayside Civic Center, offered are about animals, fossils, the ocean and the rainforest.
Playland's Castaway Cove, open from April to October, features go-carts, over 30 rides for kids, an indoor arcade and miniature golf. Kids can also play miniature golf in places that are open seasonally including Pirate Island Miniature Golf and Congo Falls Adventure Golf. Children will enjoy Jilly's shops on the boardwalk, including Jilly's Ice Cream Factory, Jilly's French Fry Factory and Jilly's T-shirt Factory. In Jilly's Arcade, kids can play games including air hockey, pinball and video games.
